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Forecast: No. 23 Brian Gibbons

Posted Aug 27, 2014
by Aaron Portzline
| 0 comments

NHL training camps open on Sept. 18, less than one month away. As a ramp-up to the real stuff, we'll spend the next month taking a look - a re-appraisal, if you will - of each NHL-level player in the Blue Jackets' organization, a guy you can expect to wear the sweater at some point this season.

We're going by sweater number, starting with No. 7 Jack Johnson and ending with No. 72 Sergei Bobrovsky. Next up on the list is ...

NO. 23 BRIAN GIBBONS

Age: 26

Role: Left or right wing, likely in the bottom six

Signed through: 2014-15 on a two-way deal (then an unrestricted free agent)

Salary cap: $700,000 (NHL), $300,000 (AHL)

Rear view mirror: Gibbons was on the Pittsburgh-to-Scranton shuttle last season. He was recalled three times and reassigned three times, partly due to injuries with the Penguins, but also due to the Pens' endless search for chemistry deep in their lineup. ... He played top six and bottom six with the Penguins, but was strictly in a top 6 role when in the American Hockey League. ... In 41 games with Pittsburgh, he had 5-12-17 and a plus-5 rating with six penalty minutes. In 28 games with Scranton, he had 11-19-30, plus-9 and a 43 penalty minutes. ... The consensus among Pittsburgh observers is that Gibbons was one of Pens' best players in the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, that his absence due to injury was a big blow. He had 2-1-3, plus-2, in eight games, but missed parts of both series (Pittsburgh vs. Columbus and New York vs. Columbus).

What's ahead: Gibbons was looking for a fresh start, which is why he turned down a similar or better contract offer from the Penguins to sign with Columbus. It was surprising to some that he signed a two-way deal so quickly. ... The Blue Jackets remade their fourth line, letting one-way contract talents like Derek MacKenzie (Florida), Blake Comeau (Pittsburgh) and Jack Skille (NY Islanders) leave via free agency so they could have flexibility and training camp competition. It should be fierce. Gibbons will be in a pitched battle for playing time in training camp. ... Gibbons' best attribute is his speed. He has rocket boosters strapped behind those Eastons, and it always catches opponents by surprise, especially when he motors wide in the neutral zone. ... What kind of player is he? What's the best way to apply his skillset at the NHL level. The jury is out. One gets the sense he fancies himself a top 6 player, and he has definitely shown glimpses of offensive talent in spotty NHL time. ... He's finished with the AHL, right? He was better than a point-a-game player last season. ... His size -- 5-8 (generous), 170 pounds -- has perhaps unfairly labled him a tweener -- not skilled enough to play a top 6 role, and not big enough to stand up to the rigors of a bottom six role. Given the chance to play a cluster of NHL games in a row, it would be fascinating to see how he defines himself, where he fits. ... Gibbons and Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson, who has a similar build. played together at Boston College. They were linemates for a while. If coach Todd Richards puts them on opposite sides of 6-4 Ryan Johansen, you've got a teepee line. ... Gibbons main competition in camp would appear to be Corey Tropp, Jeff D'Amigo, Simon Hjalmarsson, Alex Wennberg and Kerby Rychel, in no particular order. Those guys can all be sent to the AHL with two-way contracts, while fourth-liners Jared Boll and Mark Letestu seem to be entrenched because they have one-way deals. With all that competition, it's hard - at this date - to bank on any of the guys with two-way deals putting up significant numbers. But it could be Gibbons. ... Gibbons had four penalty minutes in exactly half an NHL season with the Penguins. He played, presumably, with more of an edge in Scranton, putting up 43 PIMs in 28 games.

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